A Perfect Storm of Doubt

Do yourself a favor and find another car to buy. Every new car model and new generation car has teething issues, and the new Prius is no exception. It's called the bleeding edge. Sounds like you're not an ideal candidate to be an early adopter. Find something something further along the bell curve.

Also, every car forum I've experienced would scare most people from buying that car, because those that frequent these forums--and are most vocal--are a bit obsessive in general, and for the X% of folks complaining, there are Y% that have no issues--but they're not the ones posting all the time.

But based on your posts (or the small portions of them that I've actually read ), you're going to be second guessing yourself if you get a new Prius.

 

Hello EM: what about another approach; can you just wait another year until the fall of 2010 when the 2011 Prius's come out? Maybe by then some of the "growing pains" problems will be resolved?

Like you, I had the choice of getting the G2, or waiting a couple of months and getting the G3. I am soooo glad that I bought the G2. That's not to say that I wouldn't buy the G3. If I ever needed to replace the G2, I'd buy a G3, even with all its reported first-year issues. But overall, for me going with the G2 over the G3 was the best decision.

If I were in your situation, and I had the luxury of being able to wait if necessary, I would either buy a used G2, or wait a year for the 2011s to come out.

PS: for what it's worth, I've been nothing but pleased with the brakes on my G2 after 11,000 mile of driving. And I have not heard any complaints from my wife, either.

 

no matter what we buy today, there is going to be something better to come along within a year or 2, well at least normally there is.

that was true when the 2010 came out. up until then, my 2006 was the best option. was hoping for a matured plug-in or EV option, but that was not to be. now, if you are going budget-conscious, get a good used Pri with 40,000 miles or less. they can be had all over. most are not dis-satisfied owners; most are simply displaced workers.

if money is not an option (or the main consideration) get the 2010. its a good car. sure some have reported problems, but not all. i have one and despite the fact that i have had mine longer than most, i have one of the lowest mileage totals (just past 7 months ownership with around 6300 miles) so cant say that i have fully run the gauntlet so to speak as far as breaking in a new car.

but other than the MPG error parameters, i have not seen any of the issues others complain about. the rattling, the braking when it shouldnt, not braking when it should, etc. i have driven both the old and the new (and still do) and the 2010 is definitely an improvement.

so sure, its a tough decision. any $25-30,000 decision is. no 2 ways about that. for many its a significant 5-7 year commitment.

good luck.

 

Perhaps a little exasperation that the next logical step is to 'do the experiment.' I strongly suspect you can rent a Prius and with a list of the 'problems', do the experiment. Find out for yourself if the complaints of others matches your threshold for what is acceptable behavior. For good measure, take a spare gas can and run out of fuel in the rental. In short, don't let the fears of others rule but 'do the experiment' and make your own choice.

Bob Wilson

 

Rent it for a couple of weeks, first hand experience is what matters the most. Internet forums cannot substitute a proper test drive, even if you found every user 100% happy with their Priuses.

You are going to find dissatisfied people in any car forum. Even Audi/VW forums. And don't think the problems reported by Audi/Vw users are just minor issues of otherwise perfect cars.
There is a quite interesting discussion on the forums of the main Italian car magazine ("Quattroruote") concerning Audi/VW TDI engines equipped with particulate filter. To make a long story short: many people have reported diesel leaking into the engine oil sump with consequent abnormal consumption of fuel, smell, bad lubrication, likely shortening of the engine life, etc. If you report that problem, VW tries a few fixes (tandem pump substitution, O-rings subtitution, sometime even injectors!!) and if they don't work (as it happens in most cases) refuses customers any kind of support since, according to them, that's the normal behaviour of their engine if the driver mainly drives in city roads, not allowing the particulate filter to regenerate.
You know what? I'd still take the grabby brakes and some rattles but with a top notch customer care and reliability.

 

I just wanted to come out of "lurking" mode to offer some support and my thanks to you for starting an interesting discussion in this thread.

I am in a similar position to yourself . I currently drive a Mercedes A Class, which is a company car shortly coming to the end of its lease. I have been delighted with the "baby Benz", which has been utterly flawless - not so much as a squeak or rattle - and I would instinctively replace it with another. But the tax breaks on offer in the UK to drivers of hybrid company cars are too attractive to ignore, and I have been researching the Prius for many months.

I would not want to see you discouraged from sharing your opinions/perceptions of the car from your current viewpoint, as it is one I share. I'm also grateful to those who have responded to your concerns in a constructive manner. Knowledge is power, so they say, and it's certainly the case when choosing a new car.

 

Welcome Sea!! hope you enjoy your stay here. as far what car to buy. its still a very personal decision. the Prius has merits that are really completely different than your Mercedes. each is a wonderful option no doubt.

 

No rattles, grabby brakes at very low speed are nothing more than annoying, and I believe the brake cut out over rough surfaces should be looked into. There are other annoyances like the too small sunglasses holder and lack of little storage compartments my old Honda had but I could easily find problems in EVERY new car from every manufacturer. Bottom line is I really do enjoy the car and would buy it again!

 

I pretty much had no problems with this decision, it is my second Prius.
Keep driving what you have till it is dead, dead. No matter what you get you will be looking for and noticing the things that are not perfect.

 

In your intial post, you inferred that anyone that made the decision to purchase a 2010 Prius made a poor decision. No one wants to be told that they made a poor decision.

My guess is that you wanted to know how serious or significant are the teething problems so you could make an accurate decision about what car to purchase.

Every vehicle I have owned had its share of issues. Some are very minor annoyances and some are major problems. No car is perfect. The forums are a source of invaluable information and a great place to share issues, ideas, resolutions, and experiences.

As others have responded, its your choice to purchase a new Prius or not.

Your post may have be recieved better if you had asked us how many have experienced issues or how we feel about our Prius' instead of starting off with "A Perfect Storm of Doubt".

 

comment deleted

 

ok, just so its clear that im not making a wild personal attack, this quote above, is why i suspect trolling.

electric me writes as if from a very research based, fact driven, decisive mindset.....but fails to see how a valid issue becomes invalid once its fixed/solved. more importantly, someone who claims to be doing all sorts of analytic (aka fact based) research would have read which toyota/lexus models and years are affected by the floor mat issue and subsequent precautions, NONE of which are a 2010 prius.


the only reason for my concern here is that the OP's first post is very likely what may come up in an unsuspecting user's search for legitimate 2010 prius info. it comes off as unintentionally misleading at best, and disingenuous at worst. fear-mongering at any level is a terrible thing.

i still call troll

 

Hello Deltron:

I am assuming that you mean that EM's post is a troll, not the OP himself.

I agree that the title he chose is kind of "troll-ish", but I think that it is based on a conclusion that he has (mistakenly) arrived at, and not an attempt to incite trouble.

EM has been posting here for quite some time, being part of many different discussions, often defending the Prius as though he actually owned one. He is approaching 500 posts, which is far more than most "trolls" get to.

I think that EM is making some logical errors in his analysis of the "Perfect Storm". But I don't believe that he is intentionally trolling.

 

Hello EM,

I'm in a similar situation as you, and I agree with what yardman posted above. I was interested in the Prius G2 but was also psyched about the new improvements in the G3. I didn't buy the G3 initially because good deals were hard to find and supply was limited. Waiting for better buying conditions also gave me more time to reconsider the other hybrids on the market as well as non-hybrid fuel-efficient models. I've come full circle back to the Prius as the car I want to get, but after waiting several months, the strong desire has diminished somewhat to the point that I think I can wait until:

a) my current car, bought new in '99, starts developing serious / expensive problems. Yeah, I'll be really disappointed when fate forces me to get a new Prius.
b) wait until the 2011 model comes out. Then either get the 2011 or try to get a good deal on the 2010.
c) or, wait for the new hybrid and electric options expected to be released in the next two years.

By the way, congratulations on keeping your current car for 17 years.

 

I hope that you are satisfied with your purchase no matter what it is. I bought a new 2009 Prius almost a year ago. I have had no problems with it. I am sure that the 2010 is an excellent car also. There is a post from someone who bought a 2005 Prius with 84,000 miles on it. It now has 200,000 miles on it and he has had no issues. This post is on cleanmpg.com here is the link..My life with Prius - CleanMPG Forums

 

Every vehicle has first year woes. Some are minor and some are major. Even the first years of the Gen II were plagued buy the very serious but very simple-to-fix 'engine stalling'. It required a simple reflashing of the fuel flow logic in mid-2004...BLAM problem fixed forever. Then as more and more drivers began using the Gen II's everywhere on the continent it was found that the Traction Control was overly agressive...Blam fixed by a reflashing of the logic in late 2005 and for all the 2006's and beyond.

The Gen II Prius is the No 1 most reliable family vehicle in both Consumer Reports and JD Power's surveys. No vehicle is made by divine hands ... life has risks and no one can avoid those risks. But the Prius brand thus far is by far the most reliable vehicle I've had in 20 yrs of driving Toyota's. During those 20 yrs none has ever let me down covering 600,000 to 700,000 miles of driving.

Every vehicle has something that's not perfect but putting things into perspective is important. If every issue is an insurmountable hurdle then you'll end up with paralysis by analysis. Just Do It.

• Dash rattle? I had one little one when it got cold...it went away after a couple of years. Why? I don't know and I don't care.
• Grippy brakes backing up? Adjust yourself to the different personality of your new vehicle.
• 'Skipping' while braking? It's always been there. It's a matter of adjusting yourself to the different personality of your new vehicle.
• Floormats? A minute amount of personal inspection will confirm that these can never be a problem unless the driver goes out of the way to hurt himself. You need to be accurate here... like many your statement below is not accurate.
• Toyota did not stop selling it's floor mats. It stopped selling the All Weather floormats that could be used incorrectly. The OEM carpetted mats are still being sold and installed and used properly. To reinforce this the 2010 Prius was never involved in any way in this issue.

At 137,000 miles on my Gen II I fully expect to put another 137,000 miles on in over the next 4 yrs before looking to replace it. If you choose not to participate then continue on with whatever pleases you and I'll continue on in my Gen II mile after mile after mile after....

I think that you've accumulated a lot of vague, gray impressions ( not facts ) that if you're serious are clouding your perspective. Now if you're not serious ...

 

To the OP,

Can you spare about $50, rent a 2010 Prius from your local dealer, drive it all day long to get more comfortable with the car and see for yourself what it is really like?

It's good to read reports and such, but I hope you're getting out there to drive the car too.